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New Guitar Godin vs Sterling


calin_the_dream

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Hello everyone

 

I have decided to buy me a new guitar. As I fell in love with Dream Theater and John Petrucci's style I thought about a Music Man JP Signature guitar, but my current income doesn't allow me to go near that.

 

The alternative would be the Sterling by Music Man (one of the signature models)  JP60-PRB or the JP100-PRB.

 

The reviews I found were all amazing, but I met a guy which makes a living out of playing guitar and he suggested that instead of getting an Indonesia made guitar I should get a custom made Godin with 24 frets which are made in Canada and I could get it for around 500 Eur. (The listing prices are higher but he said that he can help me with that).

 

So what do you guys think? 

 

A signature model from Sterling or a custom hand made Godin? I could go with my budget close to 900 Eur. 

 

Thank you for all your thoughts

 

Calin

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Yeap, but here in Romania is harder to get your hands on such guitars....there are some shops which can bring the on pre-orders but most of the time you can find only several models.

 

But I'll try to ask around and see if I can get my hands on either of them and see how they feel.

 

Currently I'm having a Fender Strat (made in Mexico) which is really ok, but I wnat one more, with 24 frets and of course as close as possible to the JP models :) 

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I'd say the guy is trying to sell you a 2nd hand Godin, tbh.

 

Seriously, though, Try out what you can - think about what you like or dislike about the guitars. Figure out if it feels right, and if it doesn't, think about why. Is the neck too big? The wrong shape? Higher fret access uncomfortable?

 

Once you do this research, you can apply that to what you've got in mind. Do the JP series have the neck profile you liked, or not? What can you get from Godin?

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That's interesting. I just tried out some Sterling JP models the other day. 

 

I bought a Music Man Luke III last year and fell in love with Music Man guitars -- they are so well made. Recently I've also been wanting a Music Man Petrucci guitar, but I can't afford it, as I'm still paying off my Luke.

 

So I took a look at the budget Music Man's and tried out the JP100D and the JP60 Sterling models last week at my local guitar store. I'm guessing that's similar to the PRB models you mentioned. I'm in the US so that's what they are called here. Anyway I thought they sounded and played pretty good. I like the neck profile, which is similar to my Ibanez guitars. You can play fast on them -- sweep picking licks are easy on them -- and I liked the fact it had locking tuners -- something you don't see that often on budget guitars.  Locking tuners make so NICE when changing strings, and give more string stability. The tremelo bar stayed in tune pretty well, although I don't go that crazy with whammy bars. 

 

The pickups on the JP100D have Petrucci's signature DiMarzio pickups -- the Crunch Lab and LiquiFire -- so it costs more and it sounded good, but I actually thought the cheaper JP60 model sounded pretty nice, too, with it's non-signature Dimarzio pickups.  I'm not that big of a Dream Theater fan (but I do dig Petrucci's playing) so I don't think that I need to get his exact pickups. The JP60 pickups sounded fine to me, and I might do a pick up swap later down the road. Maybe put in DiMarzio Transition pickup (got it on my Luke III) or see if my Seymour Duncan JB pickup would fit. But I think I'd be happy with the stock JP60 pickups, too.

 

The JP100D and JP60 don't have all the piezo features and other extra stuff from the Music Man JPs, so that can be a negative, but at it's price point, I thought the Sterlings were pretty nice.

 

I also tried out Petrucci's new Majesty Music Man model, and man that is a fantastic guitar-- futuristic body and so lightweight. You can get so many different sounds from it with all the switches and piezo combos but it's crazy expense. I wasn't quite convinced it worth getting at that price (around $2700 to $3000 in US dollars).  

 

That expensive price point of the Majesty just made the Sterling JP models look more enticing to me.

 

The store also had a used Godin, too.  Don't recall the model. I picked it up and  I didn't plug it in. I just tried it for a couple minutes. The neck just didn't feel right to me, after playing the JP Sterling guitars so I put it back on wall. The neck profile was much thicker. I do like thick necks too, as I own Gibson Les Paul, so if I was looking for a different type of guitar, I would have tried the Godin more but I was in the market for a fast-playing guitar, so the JP Sterling mdel's thinner neck felt better to me for that. I also looked at some nice ESPs and Prestige Ibanez guitars which some nice fast necks, too, but I ended playing the JP Sterling the most in the store. It could that I already own Ibanez guitar so I want something different.

 

Anyway, I'd vote for the JP Sterling model. If you don't need Petrucci's signature pickups, just get the cheaper JP60 model. It's the same guitar as the JP100D from what I recall reading online.  Oh yeah, I thought the paint jobs on the Sterlings were nice. It impressed me. The JP60 had this cool blue burst paint job and the JP100D had a natural Koa cap (really nice!). I think these are brand new models/paint jobs.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

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Thank you. Well, it added a few points on the JP. Actually, that was also my no. 1 choice, but as I am a beginner and too old to play more than for myself, I asked some opinions and that's how I got to the Godin. All the reviews I read about the Sterling were pretty good but I wanted to hear "untainted" opinions here, as sometimes shops do tend to boost some reviews a little bit. 

 

So I guess I have to figure out how to get one here in Romania. I mean, how to get it at a decent price, cause there is one store which imports any guitar, but as there is not a big market for these models they will try to get a big profit on this.

 

And even better, maybe I'll be able to get my hands on one JP before actually buying one to see how it feels, as Peter said.

 

Thank all for your valuable infos :)

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As for pricing, the internet can be your friend. EU based stores like thomann will often offer free shipping, and - being EU based - you won't get hit with import duties, either.

 

Always worth finding out what individual stores are like for returns, though. I know thomann have a good reputation(though I've never had to return anything bought from them) for customer service.

 

Either way, a little research will always give you a ballpark figure for what something should cost you.

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